Damper



*April 27, 1943. c. A. oTTo 2,317,798

DAMPER Filed sept. 19. 1941 Judi Smnentor @we enom Gttomegsf PatenteclApr. 27, 1943 UNITED STATESV PATEN'EI OFFIQE mmm Application September19, 1941, serial No. 411,596

2 Claims.

This invention relates to dampers for controlling the delivery ofconditioned air to a room or other space. Such air may be cooled,dehumidified, heated or otherwise treated. The invention is concernedwith directional control of the discharging air to prevent drafts,stratification and similarly objectionable effects.

Heretofore, dampers, which tend to maintain the velocity of discharge asthe dampers close. have been known. None of these fully maintains thedischarge velocity, and the purpose of the present invention is to addto such a damper, related directional means which tend to counteract theefi'ects of loss of velocity.

For example, horizontally discharging streams of cold air tend to sinkand horizontally discharging streams of heated air tend to rise as theyare discharged into a room, and the tendency is intensified by reductionof discharge velocity. The invention provides a system of adjustabledefiectors which are adjusted progressively to cause an increasingcounteracting deflection as a related damper moves from open towardclosed position. For cold air there is an increasing upward deflectionand for heated air an increasing downward deflection which becomeeffective and increase as the damper closes. These two arrangements,which may differ merely in mounting the same apparatus with one or theopposite side up, will meet the needs of most of the practicalsituations encountered.

The invention as arranged for controlling the discharge of cooled airwill now be described by reference to the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section showing the positions assumed by the partswhen the damper is nearly closed.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the positions assumed when the damperis wide open.

Referring to the drawing, a branch duct 6 leads from any suitabledistributing system or duct, not shown. It discharges through wall 1into a room or space 8, a suitable grille 9 being provided to hide theend of the duct.

Mounted on the frame ll of the grille 9 behind the grille are a seriesof pivoted louver blades l2, all of which are mounted in parallellongitudinal axes indicated at i3 and all of which are connected toswing in unison by link M which is pivotally connected with the variousblades.

A damper frame l5 is mounted in duct 6 and carries two damperbladesitand l'l which swing on parallel axes l8 and 19, one near the top and theother near the bottom of duct 6. The blades IS and l'l extend from theirrespective axes toward the louvers II and are flat plates whose freeedges approach and recede from one another when actuated by a dampermotor or other actuating means.

A suitable damper motor cylinder is indicated at Zi and has a piston rod22 with clevis 23. Pinned at 24 to the clevis are links 25 and 26 whichare pinned at 21 and 28 to clips on respective blades IE and l'l.

An arm 3i on blade IG and an oppositely extending arm 32 on theuppermost louver 12 are connected by an adjustable link 33, arranged asshown. Suitable adjustment of the length of link 33 determines theangularity of the louvers l2 relatively to lthe damper. The preferredarrangement is indicated in the drawing. In this the louvers areparallel with the direction of discharge when the damper is open wide(Fig. 2), and are increasingly oblique and hence develop an increasingdeflecting action as the damper moves in a closing direction. Themaximum defiecting angle is approximately-45.

Dampers of the type illustrated (but without the directional louvers)have long been used in the rt. They have a nozzle effect which tends tomaintain the velocity of discharge as the damper closes. This maintainedvelocity is availed of by the invention to give a corrective deflectionsuflici'ent to compensate (or approximately compensate) for such loss ofvelocity as is unavoidable.

Thus the damper controls volume of discharge while maintaining velocityand direction of discharge approximately constant and the louverscontrol direction to impart the desired corrective deflection withoutseriously' aifecting velocity.

I claim:

1. The combination of a duct having an open discharge end for deliveringinto a room; a plurality of angularly adjustable louvers mounted in saidend for directing the discharging air. connecting means for ensuringangular motion of said louvers in unison, whereby they may be set todefiect the discharging air laterally in adjustable degree; adjustablenozzle forming damper means mounted in said duct in advance of saidlouvers, said damper means being of a type which substantially maintainsvelocity and direction of air discharge when adjusted to reduce the rateof air discharge; and actuating means, connected to adjust said louversand damper means progressively in unison in such relation that as thedamper means are set for reduced discharge the louvers are setforincreased deflection in one direction.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which the louvers and damperareso related to the actuating means that when the damper is wide openthe louvers are aligned with the flow through the damper.

CARL A. O'ITO.

